Reproductive behavior and relative reproductive success of natural- and hatchery-origin Hood Canal summer chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)

Estimates of the relative fitness of hatchery- and natural-origin salmon can help determine the value of hatchery stocks in contributing to recovery efforts. This study compared the adult to fry reproductive success of natural-origin summer chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) with that of first- to third-generation hatchery-origin salmon in an experiment that included four replicate breeding groups. Hatchery- and natural-origin chum salmon exhibited similar reproductive success. Hatchery- and natural-origin males obtained similar access to nesting females, and females of both types exhibited similar breeding behaviors and durations. Male body size was positively correlated with access to nesting females and reproductive success. The estimates of relative reproductive success (hatchery/natural = 0.83) in this study were similar to those in other studies of other anadromous salmonids in which the hatchery population was founded from the local natural population and much higher than those in studies that evaluated the lifetime relative reproductive success of nonlocal hatchery populations.